Review: Marketing Builder 2008
Marketing Plan Toolset
by Bobette Kyle

You are probably visiting WebsiteMarketingPlan.com to learn more about developing a marketing plan. If you are like many and the volume of information leaves you feeling a bit overwhelmed, the finite process and set of tools in a purchased package can help you focus in ways a freestyle approach to marketing planning cannot. This review of Marketing Builder 2008 toolset is written with that in mind. 

The Marketing Builder Purchase Experience.

The Marketing Builder toolset was available immediately after purchase in the form of a zip file, which I had five attempts over 30 days to download. I was able to download and unzip on the first attempt without incident.

Unzipped, Marketing Builder is a collection of worksheets, spreadsheet templates, and documents, with instructions on what order to work through them. The package requires Microsoft Office (or software compatible to Excel and Word) and includes:

- 156-page PDF marketing manual explaining all aspects of marketing planning.

- 14 Word-formatted templates/directional documents representing different parts of a marketing plan: market, customer, competitor, SWOT, and situation analyses; product plan outline; sales strategy, pricing, distribution channel, strategic alliances, marketing communications/PR strategy, advertising/promotion strategy, development milestones, and implementation plan template.

- 6 specialized marketing plan templates in Word format: B2B company, Internet-based business, retail store(s), service companies, and not-for-profit organizations.

- 7 Public relations templates in Word format: a PR plan, business biography, fact sheet, press release worksheet, and templates for three specialized press releases (retail, service, product).

- 9 Word worksheets addressing various planning activities.

- 15 Word templates for use as supporting documents to the main marketing plan: ad codes, Internet and general JV, marketing consulting, OEM agreement, licenses, project status reports, trademark documents, and a tradeshow checklist.

- 31 Excel spreadsheet tools for use in analysis or to help generate plan appendices addressing these categories and others: pricing, break-even points, customers, competitors, budgets, media, sales, hiring, advertising/promotions, market potential, and product launch.

The instructions for using these files are in a document called "About Marketing Builder," which theoretically includes planning advice and tips for using the documents.

Getting Started with Marketing Builder

My first impression ― that this is a very helpful toolset ― held with a couple of exceptions. Everything you need to make sense of the planning process and most of the text and analytical tables you will ever need are included in easily editable format. That said, the "About Marketing Builder" document simply doesn't do the job it claims ― explaining in which sequence to use the tools. In fact, it's rather confusing.

The first sentence explains: "This document can explain the sequence of using the tools provided (This was taken from PR Builder) - see the Getting Started section below." OK, good, that's what I needed to know. I was a bit baffled, though, by the notation that the tool sequence was taken from PR Builder.

A series of helpful bullets followed gratitude for purchasing the product. The first instructed me to click instal.exe to install the application. I sifted through everything several times ― even unzipped again in a different location ― and could find no such file. OK, well, all the content appeared to be there and editable and that's a plus. So I moved on...

The next bullet referred to the Handbook of Marketing PDF. I found that it does a good job of covering most aspects of marketing plan development. The table of contents includes: What Is Marketing, Your Marketing Budget, Marketing Ethics, Your Brand Name & Logo, Analyze Your Risks, Market Research, Customer Analysis, Marketing Strategies & Tactics, Specialty Markets, International Marketing, Marketing Communications, Package to Sell, Advertising, Public Relations & Media, Customer Service, Internet Marketing, Sales Planning, Putting It All Together, Government Resources, Associations, References, Recommended Reading, and various resources.

Moving back to the "About Marketing Builder" file, I found a baffling note that details about the Marketing Toolkit Spreadsheets were below, then a reminder to visit the publisher's Website, with links to Marketing Answers, Articles, and Links. All three links led to 404 not found pages.

Next were four pages about how important it is to have a marketing plan and the advantages of these particular tools. I rapidly skimmed over this the first time through, which was a mistake. I missed a critical paragraph explaining that expert comments were in the hidden text of each planning document. For most documents, you have to manually turn on the hidden text to see the comments.

The Getting Started section followed. As promised, it was taken primarily from PR Builder...explaining how to go about setting public relations goals and some details about different aspects of PR. There was a link to an Online User Manual, which turned out to be about developing a PR plan. As you are no doubt well aware, public relations techniques represent only a small fraction of possible marketing programs.

"About Marketing Builder" was a confusing disappointment, but I still had a lot of material to sift through.

Using Marketing Builder

The unzipped files included the 14 numbered Word files representing the marketing plan outline and five subfolders for supporting information. Diving in with file number 1 ― Market Analysis ― seemed the logical next step. As I began looking through each file, I at first thought they included only example text to use for each section. Then the light bulb went on and I found the hidden comments (in Word, go to Tools > Option > View and check the "hidden text" box). At that point, the documents became much more helpful.

I was pleasantly surprised to find an article in the SWOT analysis section, previously appearing in the Wells Fargo Small Business Roundup, in which I am extensively quoted. Interesting to note that document 6 ― The Product Plan ― turned out to be an example, a rough draft of the Marketing Builder product plan, including a SWOT analysis.

Upon reaching the final file, I felt all of the parts of a marketing plan were covered well, but marketing programs mentioned did not include recent technology (To be fair, because technology advances so quickly, any set of tools will be somewhat behind the times. It is always up to you to stay knowledgeable about current techniques).

After reviewing each of the 14 outline files I still wasn't sure when each of the supporting documents and other files came into play. So, I methodically went through each. For the most part, file titles adequately describe file contents, so the lack of structured directions wasn't a problem (but better comments throughout the outline explaining which files could be used as background/development documents would be an improvement). 

My Conclusions

There is definitely room to improve the Marketing Builder user experience and the lack of a user guide makes this tool set a bit overwhelming at first. In spite of its shortcomings, the toolset is a good value:

* User Friendliness: C- (The limited instructions are inaccurate and confusing!)

* Usefulness: A (90+ templates and spreadsheets, including model contracts and analytical spreadsheets)

* Timeliness: C (Marketing program examples did not include Internet and social media developments of the last couple of years)

* Value: A+ (The spreadsheets alone are worth the $90 price tag)

* Overall Score: B

If your primary needs are to save time writing the marketing plan document and developing analytical tools, you will find the Marketing Builder toolset invaluable. If your primary needs are to be guided through the process with directions, explanations, and multiple examples you will be disappointed (Marketing Plan Pro software would better fit your needs).

About the Author

Bobette Kyle draws upon 15+ years of Marketing/Executive experience, online marketing experience, and a marketing MBA as inspiration for her writing. Bobette is proprietor of the Web Site Marketing Plan Network (http://www.WebSiteMarketingPlan.com). She is also author of the marketing plan and Web promotion book "How Much For Just the Spider? Strategic Website Marketing For Small Budget Business." You can search all articles on the network through the marketing directory by going here: http://www.websitemarketingplan.com/directory